Electric switch-operating device.



B. HENRARD & L. LEVEQUB ELEGTRIC; SWITCH OPERATING DEVICE.

APPLIQATION TILED FEB. 3, 1910.

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B. HENRARD & L. LEVE UE. ELBGTEIG SWITCH OPERATING DEVIGE.

9 APPLICATION FILED F313. 3, 1910. 990,869.

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BERTI-IELEMY HENRARD, or LIEGE, AND LEON LEvneUE, or ANTWEBP, BELGIUM.

ELECTRIC SWITCH-OPERATING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 2, 1911.

Application filed February 3, 1910. Serial No. 541,677.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, BnnTHnLEMY HEN- RARD and LEON Lnviiqnn, bot-hsubjects of the King of Belgium, and residents, the former of Liege andthe latter of Antwerp, Belgium, have invented certain new and usefulElectric Switch-Operating Devices, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to a system of automatically actuating theswitches of tramways and electric railroads the object being to providea system of this kind adapted to work without any intervention of thepersonnel of the car and independently of the feeding current of themotors.

In the accompanying drawing: Figure 1 shows a side elevation of atrolley and the upper part of the trolley pole provided with contactmembers; Figs. 2, 3, 4t and 5 show front elevation views of same; Figs.6 and 6 show a diagrammatic View of our system applied to a four trackswitch, one view being a continuation of the other. Fig. 7 shows adetail view of contacts arranged near the trolley wire; Fig. 8 is asimilar view showing the arrangement of contacts near the undergroundfeed wire. Fig. 9 shows the arrangement of the contacts in case of asliding bow. Fig. 10 shows in detail a side elevation view of one of theyielding contact members. Fig. 11 is a top plan view of same; Fig. 12shows a diagrammatic View of a modified form of our device.

Secured to the overhead or underground current supply member is ametallic yielding rubbing contact member 4: (see Fig. 10). The free endof this rubbing contact member laterally projects from the currentsupply member and is adapted when a switch is approached, to come intocontact with an insulated metal strip secured to a suitable carrierarranged on or near the feed conductor. This metal strip is connected bymeans of a conducting wire with one or the other according to thedirection which it is desired to give to the car, of two electromagnets,E which in the diagram shown by Fig. 6 is adapted to shift the switchpoint for the left hand track or E which is adapted to adjust the switchpoint for the right hand track, the ends of the windings of saidelectromagnet-s being earthed. In the description given below, thedevice will be supposed applied to a trolley as a current supplyingmember; but the same statements four lines A, B, C, D corresponding tothe same track, it being understood that the cars of the same line willall carry their rubbing contacts at the same place. In the particularcase shown by Fig. 6, the rubbing member may be positioned in fourdifferent fashions. l.--Above on the left as shown by Fig. 2 at F;2.above on the right as shown by Fig. 3 at F 3.below on the left asillustrated by Fig. 4: at F and 4:.011 the right as shown by Fig. 5 atF*. This rubbing member may be formed of a coiled spring made of gunmetal wire and the turns of which are brought close together as shown indetail by Figs. 10 and 11. One of the ends of this spring is securedinto a piece of metal 2 which is in turn secured to the trolley pole 8.The opposite end of the coiled spring 1 is provided with a roundedmetallic head 4 having a screw threaded shaft screwed into the coils ofthe spring. As

vented from oscillating when a car passes.

Secured to this carrier through the medium of insulators are four metalstrips B, B B B (Figs. 6 and 7) of suliicient length which are insulatedfrom each other and from the line. These strips are arrangedrespectively so as to come, at the moment of the passage of the car intocontact with the corresponding rubbing contact member occupying one ofthe positions F, F F F The strips are electrically connected with theworking electromagnets of the switch, it being borne in mind that theelectromagnet E shifts the switch point for the left hand track whilethe electromagnet E shifts the switch point for the right hand track.

It is needless to say that according to the combinations to be producedit will be necessary to connect with the same electromagnet one or threeoverhead contact strips.

On the other hand, it will be readily understood that the position ofthe rubbing memberon the left or on the right side of the trolley doesnot designate a corresponding direction of the car that is to saythat agiven rubbing member actuatinga certain switch toward the left mayactuate another switch toward the right. Thedirection de; pends solelyupon the method employed for connecting the strips withtlieelectromagnets and upon the position .of the rubbing member on thetrolley.

In order'to find out the connections to be 4 made between the'strip andthe electromagnets it is necessary to proceed as follows: Knowing theposltion of the rubbing member of a given line, it will be sufficientto' connect ateach switch, the contact strip engaged by the rubbingcontact member with the electromagnet which causes the switch to move inthe desired direction. These connections are shown by Fig; 6 for threeswitches.

It is easily understood that with this system the cars once adjustedautomatically shift the switches so as to remain on their tracks. Itwill be furthermore understood that in a net comprising many lines, the

above described combination may be repeated that is to say that therubbing mem ber might be secured at the same place for two or moredifierent lines provided they do not employ the same track during a part1 of their run.

In the arrangement shown by Fig. 6 the number of lines which may pass agiven switch is equal to the number of contact strips of this switch.This number of lines may be doubled by the device described below andshown by Fig. 12. This figure diagrammatically shows a contact device 1)comprising two strips. If it is desired to cause the cars of four linesA, B, C, D to pass this switch one may proceed as follows: The trolleypoles of the cars of lines A and B will evidently have their rubbingcontact members at the same place but the 7 length of these rubbingcontacts will be different. Thus it would be possible to provide thecars of line A with rubbing contact members having a normal length andthe cars of line B with longer rubbing members.

On the other hand the switch a will be provided with a contact devicecomprising two strips Z) and if placed one after the other but one ofwhich 6 will be positioned farther away from the conducting wire so thatit will not be touched by the short rubbing contact member but only bythe long one.

- It will be readily understood that when the strips 6 and b areconnected with two different 'electromagnets, it will be possible toadjust the switch for the line A or for the line B. The same reasoningmay be made for the lines C and D. By the process described'it will bepossible to control four lines by a contact device comprising two Istrips and so on. In a similar manner the rubbing contact member mayhave two, threeormore. different lengths whereby the number of possiblecombinations may still be increased if necessary. It is needless to sayc that the shape and the method employed for securing the rubbing membermay be varied at will. I 7

Having now fully described our said inventionwhat we claim and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is 1. An automatic switch device for electrictramways and electric railways comprising in combination with thecurrent supply member of the cars and the switches of a plurality ofyielding rubber contact members mounted on said current supply member atdifferent places, a plurality of contact strips arranged in advance ofthe said switches at places allowing them to be engaged by the saidrubbing contact members, electromagnetic means for controlling each ofthesaid switches and means for connecting said electromagnetic meanswith said contact strips and the earth, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

2. An automatic switch device for electric tramways and electricrailways comprising in combination with the current supply member of thecars and the switches of a plurality of yielding rubbing contact memberscarried by said current supply rod and having different lengths, a'plurality of contact of yielding rubbing contact members secured to saidcurrent supply member at different places and formed each of a coiledspring having a contact head screwed into its free end, a plurality ofcontact strips arranged in advance of each of the said switches atplaces where they can be engaged by said rubbing contact members,electromagnetic means for controlling each of said switches and meansfor connecting said electromagnetic means with said contact strips andthe earth, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4:. An automatic device for electrictramways and railways comprising incombination with the current supply member and current supply wire of"the cars and the switches of a plurality of yielding rubbing saidswitches and means for connecting said contact members carried by thesaid current electromagnetic means with the said contact supply memberat different places and strips and the earth, substantially as and forformed each of a coiled spring having a conthe purpose set forth. 15tact head screwed into its free end, a plu- In testimony whereof we havehereunto set rality of contact strips arranged in advance our hand inpresence of two witnesses.

of each of said switches and secured to a BERTHELEMY HENRARD, metalliccarrier secured to the said current E E E supply wire and adapted toserve as a guide Wit for said current supply members, electro- G, D L

magnetic means adapted to control each of LAURENCE TUCK-SHERMAN.

topies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

